RPM Auto Service — Local services in Avondale

My experience with RPM Auto Service in Avondale, MO, is incredibly disappointing. I was referred to this mechanic through RepairPal for an extended warranty repair on my car. Trusting RPM Auto Service may be one of the biggest mistakes I’ve made in my life. We’ve experienced nothing but frustration and a constant struggle for communication. This shop had my car for several weeks, only for the parts they installed to fail within an hour.

The entire process was a headache and felt shady from the start. We made an appointment online, only to show up after their posted opening hours to find no one there. Our first call to verify we were at the right location went unanswered, marking the beginning of a pattern that continued throughout the entire time our car was at their shop. They eventually called us back, stating we could drop our keys off, and they would look at our car that day, promising a call with a diagnosis. We went a full day without any communication. When I was finally able to get a hold of someone, they admitted they hadn’t even looked at our car but would "later that day." Fast forward five more days with zero communication, and the first update we received on our car was when my wife went to their shop in person. When I mentioned retrieving our car due to the delays, they told me I shouldn't, claiming they had already started the warranty paperwork and the warranty company would likely deny any claims if the car was removed from their shop. We took them at their word and we were stuck.

Every single deadline or update they provided ultimately proved to be false information. The repair timeline they gave us was constantly pushed back, forcing us to take our other car on an extended road trip. We were hopeful we would be returning home to a repaired car, but despite them having the car and the necessary parts in hand for well over a week, we came back to more excuses and issues. I spent countless hours chasing them down for updates, only for the final repair to fail almost immediately. I feel incredibly frustrated by the whole situation, so here’s my experience with RPM Auto Service by the numbers:

21 Days – How long they had my car for an AC repair.

8 out of 10 – The number of calls to their shop during their posted business hours that went unanswered.

7 days – The number of days, by their own admission, they had the necessary parts for the repair before they started the work.

5 – The number of times they told us our car would be ready and it wasn't.

15 – The number of minutes the repair they performed worked before it failed.

Our warranty company says we need to go back to RPM Auto Service to perform the fix on the repair they did, but we would rather pay out of pocket than deal with them again. I will never, under any circumstances, go back to this mechanic and would never recommend anyone else deal with them based on...

I called to check on the wait since it was during the holidays. I knew either my transmission had lost a couple gears, or the diff was shot and knew it would take some time to either replace or rebuild. The lady that answered said they could get my truck in and on a lift within 3 days. The other shops I called were a week out. I dropped my truck off on a Monday and had not heard anything by Friday afternoon. So, I called, the lady said they got behind and would get it in and on a lift on the following Monday. I didn't hear from them Monday, so I called Tuesday afternoon and again the lady stated they could get it on a lift by Wednesday afternoon. I went with this and waited. I called back on the following Monday, and they still had not gotten my truck in to check it out. When Wednesday came around, they still had not gotten my truck in. I called another shop and they said they could get to it on Thursday if my truck by Wednesday afternoon. I called RPM back and told them NOT to perform anything work on my truck and I was taking it elsewhere since you had it there for over 2 weeks and stringing me along. The guy who answered said I would need to pay for a diagnostic fee. When I arrived, I asked about why I needed to pay a diagnostic fee when you haven't looked at my truck and you could not tell me anything I didn't already knew. He told me it would be at least another week before they could get my truck in. I asked him why the lady told me you would be able to get to my truck the same week I dropped it off and why she didn't check with the mechanics, who are actually doing the work, on a realistic time frame/schedule. He told me, he did not know why she said that but didn't care and to not bring any of my vehicles to them again and I WILL NOT. If the lady were honest about not being able to give me a reasonable time frame, then she should have gone to find out instead of LYING and DECEITFUL. The other shop got my truck in, diagnosed and transmission rebuilt within a week of delivery. I would avoid this shop and go to AAA Transmission on N oak...

My car sat for a full week and they didn’t even look at it. I’ve used this shop before with good results but this is weird. Took the car into the shop on a Monday afternoon. The lady up front said they had a lot of appointments which I understand. This is my only car. It sat for a full week and then Monday morning, seven days later, I picked up my car and took it to Firestone. Firestone did an oil change and changed out the spark plugs solving the problem in literally 90 minutes. I wish RPM had simply told me “we have spots booked for a full week and won’t even be able to look at your car for a week.” That would have been professional and courteous. But to ghost me for a full week with zero communication and they didn’t even look at it. I was out of my car for a for a full week. And Firestone solved all of my problems...